Down Syndrome Stigma

For the purpose of this assignment, this section of the paper will critically reflect and analyze the portrayal of people with Down Syndrome in mass media. I chose to specifically evaluate CBC New’s portrayal because it is one of our greatest sources of news in British Columbia. This section will look into several of CBC’s most recent news stories that are about people with down syndrome and the adversity they face. We will see that there is a common trend towards advocating for these people as well as trying to rid Down Syndrome from being seen as a disability.

I know a few people who all deal with different things in their lives. One thing that sticks out that I see a lot in real life and with movies is Down Syndrome. I know some people who deal with down syndrome on a daily base. I won't be naming anyone. With this paper I will go through the six theoretical models. I must say with writing this paper I will try to not say the person's name, but sometimes my typing gets ahead of me.

Down syndrome is an intellectual disability that is a result of a person being born with an extra chromosome, specifically chromosome 21. Down syndrome is the most common intellectual disability affecting approximately 1 in every 1000 births (Asim, Kumar, Muthuswamy, Jain, & Agarwal, 2015). Research has found a direct link between the age of the mother and the possibility that the baby will be born with Down syndrome, with the occurrence of Down syndrome increasing proportionally with the increased age of the mother (Asim, 2015). This condition can cause both intellectual (cognitive) and physical impairments that can range from moderate to severe (Crosta, 2016). People with Down syndrome have physical impairments such as a flat face, little to no neck, small ears, slated eyes, shorter than normal limbs and they tend to have low muscle tone (Asim, 2015). Children with Down syndrome tend to have a slower development of natural movements such as sitting, crawling and walking (Crosta, 2015). Intellectually people with Down syndrome tend to have a below average intelligence and most often they need extra assistance when attending school (Asim, 2015).

Low muscle tone. Small stature. Upward Slant to the eyes. Single deep crease across the center of the palm. These are a few common physical traits of individuals with Down syndrome. However, every person with Down syndrome is unique and portrays each characteristic at a different degree. Individuals with Down syndrome have an extra chromosome 21. The additional genetic material alters childhood development and causes characteristics associated with the disease. Non-invasive prenatal tests, known as NIPT, analyze the amount of chromosome 21 in the mother’s blood at 10 weeks pregnant. This eugenical testing leads to the extermination of those with Down syndrome. Not only have the abortions rates increased since

A mental Illness refers to a wide range of mental health conditions — disorders that affect your mood, thinking and behavior. Downs syndrome is a congenital disorder arising from a chromosome defect, causing intellectual impairment and physical abnormalities including short stature and a broad facial profile. It arises from a defect involving chromosome 21. Down syndrome is random and it can affect anyone. There is no cure and no precautionary steps. Down syndrome affects millions of people each year. With research we can find new ways to treat this disease and help the ones who are affected.

As a child, Down syndrome was a part of my everyday life. I was watched after every day for the first ten years of my life by a women who was also looking after her sister who had Down syndrome. To me it was nothing unusual. It wasn’t until about eighth grade that I realized that to other people it wasn’t normal, it had a negative connotation. Growing up around a person who has Down syndrome made me see things differently than others. Once I realized not everyone else’s perspectives were the same as mine I became really aware of how others treated and reacted to people with Down syndrome. Its years later and I came across a story told by a women named Bethany Van Delft about Down syndrome.

Many would choose to argue that those who have a certain mental illness or learning disability are not considered a special needs child. These people only consider those who may have physical abnormalities to be special needs. Because many think this way, they may not want to help the special needs community because they are afraid of it being “awkward”. “About 70 percent of babies prenatally diagnosed with Down Syndrome are aborted.” says Becker, Writer and mother of a daughter with Down Syndrome (Garrison). Many people choose not to be involved with special needs because they don’t want to be put in that situation or won’t know how to interact with them.

Although people with disabilities are becoming more acceptable in society, we still have a long way to go. Congress has passed many laws to help the disabled such as the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975, and the most well known, Americans with Disabilities Act of 1991. People with Down syndrome just want to be like every one else. Many of these people live “normal” lives. They go to school and learn, they are taught skills and learn to be independent, they work and even get married.

Down syndrome occurs in approximately 1 out of every 700 babies born in the United States (“Facts About Down Syndrome,” 2014). As a result, the level of awareness is not as high as that of disabilities that are more common. This campaign caters not only to the active publics, which would include parents and close members of someone with Down syndrome, but also aroused publics, who recognize and care about the issue at hand, but are not as knowledgeable about Down syndrome.

Babies with Down syndrome are usually sociable infants,they like to communicating nonverbal ways to communicating with people. Some children would learn sign-language or gesture in their way of talking. Children and adults with Down syndrome continue to develop good social skills and appropriate social behaviour, though a significant minority may develop difficult behaviours, particularly those with the greatest delays in speech and language development (https://www.dseinternational.org).

The way society shapes the way that individuals see people who have a disability is what my Personal Interest Project is about. It is on the way that individuals see people with a disability and whether or not this is base around other people in society’s ideas. People often come to conclusions based on family expectations and their views towards something, views within the community for example peers impact thoughts and values and play a major role in each others views. The reason for this topic choice is due to having a huge interest in this field and wanting to do something that was different and that would relate across a broad number of my subjects.

The concept of desirability has divided society in two groups. One group has been categorized as the higher- achiever and the other group as the low-achievers. This comparison has been embedded into society for so many years. During the 50’s it was used to protect white middle-class students. Today is mostly used to described people who have mental or physical impairments. Sleeter and Longmore researched how the concept of disability has had a negative development through the US society.

Among siblings 88 percent are convinced that they are better people because of their brother or sister with down syndrome. People who haven’t experienced working with or living with a disabled person don’t understand the impact it has on your life and what you consider to be normal when it comes to a daily routine. With that said the person in my life who has shaped me to be the person I am today is my sister, Madison. Madison Ness is sixteen years old with down syndrome and attends Hamilton High School in the special education classes. She is short with dark brown hair making her not that noticeable but if you get a chance to meet her you will see that she makes quite an impact on everyone who crosses her path and that she spends every waking

The nucleus, commonly known as the brain, is the command center of eukaryotic cells. This membrane bound organelle carries information and instructions, in the form of DNA packed into chromatin, for growth, development, and reproduction to all other organelles. The nucleus oversees the all activities in the cell. Without a nucleus, the organelles of the cell would not know what to do.